SENIOR MEMBER

South Africa's Paramount Group and Jordan's King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) signed a contract at the IDEX show in Abu Dhabi on 23 February for the Mbombe infantry combat vehicle

The contract, which covers the first 50 Mbombes, was signed by KADDB CEO Major General Omar al-Kaldi and the Paramount chairman Ivor Ichikowitz.

"The Mbombe is a world-class product that is optimally suited for the requirements of defence forces in the region," Gen Kaldi said. "[It] will become the platform for the future 6x6 requirements of the Jordanian Armed Forces."

"This is only the beginning [of KADDB-Paramount co-operation], hopefully there will be a huge amount of project to come," he added.

Paramount said the signing of the contract follows an extensive programme of vehicle trials that were carried out in 50°C desert environments in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, and -50°C during winter trials in Kazakhstan.

It says the Mbombe's unique flat-hull technology provides unrivalled protection for such a low-profile vehicle, ensuring it can survive 10 kg mines and an improvised explosive device (IED) with the power of 50 kg of TNT. The vehicle's double-skin hull also protects against 14.5 mm heavy machine gun rounds and 155 mm artillery bursts.